About
Vintage Vacations

Overview

About
Vintage Vacations

Starting with a single Airstream caravan bought on eBay in 2004 as a weekend escape from London, Helen Cunningham saw the opportunity to offer these icons of travelling hospitality to others. Located on a working farm, the first of these 60s and 70s works of aluminium art were brought to the Isle of Wight from Missouri and enhanced with a treasure trove of furnishings and period decor from Helen’s stylist background. From melamine plates to retro print fabrics, Helen and partner Frazer have shared a stockpile of period artefacts to make the Vintage Vacation experience a hazy trip down memory lane – full of a sense of period fun.

Facilities & Pricing

Price:

Easy On The Pocket

US $100 to $250 / € 100 to € 250 / UK £50 to £125

Rooms:
14 caravans

Open Period:
April - October

Modern conveniences such as fridges and CD players are hidden behind the vintage exteriors so you can enjoy yourself without sacrifice. They even include a hairdryer and toaster! Some of the larger models have enough space for travel cots. The campsite has a beach hut with proper toilet facilities as you can’t use the toilets on board. Once inside your Airstream you’ll easily understand why they are still considered king of the road for luxury camping.Caravans sleep up to four, however vintage folding caravans are available to hire on site for noisy children or larger families.

Helen notes that guests are “More bohemian than bog standard”.

To keep everything as original as possible, Vintage Vacations have stayed with the USA voltage. This means that each trailer has its own transformer to convert UK power supply to US. There is a travel adaptor on board. Some devices such as iPods and certain DVD players and phone chargers will work, but not all, so bring a couple of favourite CDs just in case.

Airstream B+B is for 2 people and includes taxi from Ryde (and breakfast!)

1 - 26 April £140 27 April – 31 May £160 1 – 28 June £175 29 June - 5 July £195 6 July – 30 August Not available 31 August – 13 September Not available 14 - 30 September £195 1-18 October £85 18 October – 4 November £95

Map & Activities

Located on a spacious new site at Hazlegrove Farm, Near to Ryde, the field is in a peaceful, pretty spot with views over to Brading Downs. No nearby roads, houses .... or anything much! The only noise you’ll hear is the whistle of the nearby steam train on the heritage line.

As well as a shower on your trailer (with a couple of exceptions), they have a separate shower facility .... along with 'proper' toilets. There are also BBQ's and Log burners for your use

Also on site is their Shop-in-a-Shed with period clothing, books, postcards and items of fun. They also have breakfast items including local eggs, bacon, bread, butter and sausages.

The site is EXCLUSIVELY Vintage Vacations - so everyone joins in the fun!

The Isle of Wight offers all that is great about a traditional British beach holiday, with sunshine, ice cream sundaes, pony rides and pub grub. Top locations include Ventnor and Freshwater Bay with peaceful little coves, Shanklin for traditional teashops or Bembridge for safe bathing. Traditional board games (Cluedo, cards, etc.) are supplied. Newport is a 10 minute drive away. To preserve these works of art, the caravans are non-smoking throughout and pets are not admitted on site.

Also consider... The Mission If Airstreams aren't your cup of tea, or they're simply full, you might want to consider "The Mission", a classic 'tin tabernacle' church (c1895), restored and converted to holiday accommodation sleeping 8 in 4 bedrooms.

History

The former 'Blackgang Mission Hall' was only ever used as a mission meeting hall until Vintage Vacations bought it in 2007. It has an interesting history and a unique atmosphere. Situated on Blythe Shute, just outside the village of Chale on the South coast of the island, it is in an 'area of outstanding natural beauty' and steps away from stunning coastal scenery.

Externally the building has been re-clad and repainted using original materials and paint colors. There is a private car park for 2 cars.

Internally much of the original interior remains untouched. Helen and Fraser have created a mostly open-plan 'building-within-a-building' inside the main body of the hall. This gives 2 double mezzanine bedrooms floating in the roof-space and underneath a large open sitting area with masses of seating and a gorgeous woodburning stove. Also in the main hall is a luxuriously large bathroom with a sunken bath ...sunken into what was the baptismal font.

At the back of the main hall is the kitchen and dining area. The kitchen is a restored beautiful 1950's English Rose model and kind of looks like it has always been there. Fridge-freezer, gas cooker, washing machine and dishwasher as well as all the usual kitchenalia.

Leading from the kitchen is the 'Sunday School' wing - 2 further bedrooms (1 with bunk beds, one with 2 single or 1 double bed) and a second bathroom with a lovely shower. Outside is a decked courtyard a grass area and a raised garden with a bench tree seat, summer house and BBQ area...

Loved it. Retro down to the reading matter and babycham. Felt like I was King of the road. Good location, near to some great pubs, perhaps even better out of main summer season too. Recommended to friends already. I'll be back Helen and Frazer!

Chris Baker

Sep 28 2012

We just spent 3 nights in the 1949 Vagabond and had a great time. Really recommended for an unusual retro themed break.

Loved it. Retro down to the reading matter and babycham. Felt like I was King of the road. Good location, near to some great pubs, perhaps even better out of main summer season too. Recommended to friends already. I'll be back Helen and Frazer!

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